My first time using a card scraper. I wish I knew a good way to sharpen them

Well-made scraper- burnish and go!

If you do woodworking and don’t have a set of scrapers, get some!

I finally decided to get these and they work great! I used them to scrap dried flue.

I love these because they are thicker than most.Before finding these, I tried to only use Bahco scrapers.The blue color makes it easier to distinguish them from the 8 or so others in the drawer.Bonus for these is that they’re made in America.

My previous DFM scrapers worked great right out of the box. Not this time. Numerous burrs along edges left gouge marks in project. Recommend you sharpen prior to use.

Just used these for the first time since I bought them and they are amazingly fine. I hand build guitars and rely on planes and scrapers for much of my work. These scrapers are truly excellent. The thickness is perfect for thinning and flattening surfaces - like the front and back of the headstock. Their size makes them easy to handle. They fit nicely in my hands. They cut well, producing nice clean shavings. I’ll buy these again. I recommend these to anyone who uses scrapers. Thanks DFM!

I like the DFM desire to bring tool-making back to the USA. But these scrapers are not not produced properly.They seem to be stamped or punched out of steel sheets. It's a quality job, but there is noticeable deformation in the steel... you see this when you condition the flat fces. Taking these to a stone to smooth the flat faces quickly reveals the undulations (I used a rotary Makita Japanese stone as well as 3M diamond sheets mounted on a honed piece of granite designed to stabilize scientific measuring devices... I do final honing on traditional Japanese water stones).I eventually got the edges smooth, but was puzzled as to why these were punched out the way they were – with the sanding grain aligned perpendicular to the cutting edge. Meaning along the short dimension.The reason this is important is that when you prepare a scraper you want a smooth, uniform burr on the edge. The burr is not visible with the unaided eye... you go by feel. A sanding grain aligned against the scraping edge that is clearly visible will result in an edge that's more of a rake than a shovel... you will be turning an edge that is variegated – uneven. If they stamp them the other way they get 4 stars. But the sanded surface is still a pain. And they are very stiff for a .032" scraper.I bought these and I also bought a set of two Lie-Nielsen scrapers at roughly the same price. It took some time to condition the edge properly on my motorized waterstone for these DFM scrapers. A couple of hours... (there are 4 edges X 2 sides X 2 scrapers). When I went to the Lie-Nielson scrapers my first pass showed that I didn't need to even bother – they were incredibly uniform at the edge. They seemed milled, not sanded, but whatever the process it was superior.I'll give both a workout and report back. In the meantime I would buy Lie-Nielson scrapers. They come in two perfect flexible thicknesses as well.(disclaimer: I am not connected to Lie-Nielson in any way, other than the fact that they make hand tools that are worth the expense and I own a dozen or so. Not perfect – I've had to flatten bottoms and square sides a bit on their planes – but they are the best you can get, and a great tribute to American craft).UPDATE:Sorry it's been awhile... forgot I promised to write an update after using both the DFM and Lie Nielsen scrapers. I've done a fair amount with both now, and can pass along a performance evaluation. First, let me say that after you get good at conditioning a scraper, you can literally grab almost any piece of steel, put a burr on it and scrape with it. I say this from experience – I've had to do this in a pinch many, many times. So in that regard, these DFM scrapers are fine – they are quite stiff, which can wear out your hands if you try to flex them while you scrape (flexing outward even a little bit as you push, or inward as you pull adds to the effectiveness of a scraper).The DFM steel seems quite hard, meaning it takes some effort to get a burr on the edges. The benefit is the burr lasts quite awhile before it needs refreshing. All in all, I like the DFM scrapers but feel they're best for coarse heavier work.Lie Nielsen provides two thicknesses in their set: .032" and .020". The thinner scraper is a joy to use – you can really feel the control of the edge as you flex it quite easily and naturally. The steel doesn't seem as hard as the DFM... not that it's soft, but rather that the DFM is really that hard! I think I'd grab the Lie Nielsen scrapers for more refined tasks, such as final scraping before finishing. I personally like to scrape carefully and then finish with just some Scotchbrite fine or ultra fine abrasive pads before applying the finish. As you probably know, a scraper slices the wood grain instead of tearing it, which gives the wood surface MUCH greater depth when finished if sanding is kept to a minimum (I hate sanding period). After you get comfortable with scraping, you can even use scrapers to remove the "hair" that raises after your first coat of finish... followed by a bit more light Scotchbrite work.Here's some notes on preparing a scraper for those that are just getting into scraping (since there are a number of reviews voicing frustration that the scrapers aren't prepared). The most important thing is to keep at it – it requires practice, like any skill, and the rewards are well worth the effort! You will find yourself reaching for a scraper for all sorts of things – scraping off paint drips, scraping off glue residue, sraping down glue joint ooze... it took me awhile, but I finally got good at it when I realized I was trying too hard... I was creating too much of a burr. There's a lot of mystique around sharpening scrapers, and a lot of it centers on creating the burr, but in reality it's a pretty straightforward process.The key for me is to keep it fast and simple. I use a mill bastard file in a holder that keeps the file at 90° to the scraper... something like the Woodsmith version but simpler (and cheaper). You could make your own out of hardwood, but I wouldn't file the edge freehand because it's very important to have it square to the side faces. Just a few strokes with the file, then a quick hone of the edge and two faces... I use whatever fine stone I have handy – a ceramic stone works well. If I don't have a stone handy then I just skip the honing and go right to burnishing. I use the shaft of a 1/2" drill for a burnisher... nothing fancy (any burnisher should be a diameter of 1/2" or more... don't use something smaller). I should mention that the drill bit I use is about a foot long... I bought it for some purpose that I forget now, and it was collecting dust and rust, but it's been reborn as a burnisher! But any 1/2" or larger hardened surface should work... I think most 1/2" drill bits have enough basic, un-milled stock on them to work as a burnisher.Burnishing the *sides* is important imo and often neglected: I burnish both sides of the scraper first – I clamp it flat on the bench or table and run the 1/2" drill bit shaft flat on the side near the edge while applying as much pressure as I can. I also vary the angle of the burnisher (along the flat face axis) during this flattening stage – this smoothes any remaining sanding or file marks and hardens the edge a bit. I think it really makes a difference.Then the scraper goes into a wood vice with only 1/2–3/4" or so showing. A light oil helps in creating the burr... I find some skin oil (behind the ear usually works, but even something like olive oil or even Chapstick is fine) and rub it on the edge. Then I run the drill shaft along the edge at 90° in both directions while applying moderate pressure, until I feel a very small burr. THIS is where the burr really comes from – too many instructions emphasize holding the burnisher at an angle, but a natural, perfect, hardened burr comes from strait 90º effort, so don't jump to the angle part too soon. If you do the angle thing too quickly you'll form a weak edge that's too extreme. Any angle action should be two sweeps in each direction and that's it.Practice this a bit and you should be able to get 8 good edges on the scraper in less than 10 minutes (I usually do the short sides too). It's really a breeze, and something I don't think twice about any more. I was initially intimidated by the usual woodworker affinity for "secret sauce," meaning very specific ways to achieving something, but I have dropped the secret sauce mentality in favor of the common sense we all have.Again, keep it simple and don't go crazy with tilting the burnisher. And don't buy gimmicks – they usually take you away from your tool and interrupt your purpose.Stay pure.